Founded in 1973, Chicago Filmmakers is a media arts organization that fosters the creation, appreciation and understanding of film and video as media for artistic and personal expression, as well as media of important social and community impact. Our mission is to provide an opportunity for artists to make films outside the mainstream marketplace, to distribute and exhibit this work, as well as to build audiences and to increase media attention for it. Recognizing the impact of mass media in contemporary society, it is additionally our goal to provide culturally diverse audiences with alternative images to those reflected in mainstream media and to broaden access to media education to include those typically left out of the process.